Chapter 8:

Short Term Scheduling

LIM Soon Chong, Johnson (Ph.D.)

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM)

BBM 40402, v1.0

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Chapter Objectives

At the end of this chapter, students is able to:

1 explain the relationship between short-term scheduling, capacity
planning, aggregate planning and a master schedule.
2 apply assignment method for loading jobs; and
3 name, describe and apply each of the priority sequencing rules.

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Outline I

1 Short Term Scheduling

Importance
Scheduling Criteria

2 Loading Jobs

3 Sequencing Jobs
Metrics on Job Sequencing
Job Sequencing Strategy
Limitations

4 References

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 Short Term Scheduling

Introduction

The objective of scheduling is to allocate and prioritize demand (generated by

either forecasts or customer orders) to available facilities [1].
Forward Scheduling: Begins the schedule as soon as the requirements
are known.
Backward Scheduling: Begin with the due date by scheduling the final
operation first and the other job steps in reverse order.

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 Short Term Scheduling

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 Short Term Scheduling Importance

Importance of Short-Term Scheduling

The strategic impotance of scheduling is clear [1]:

Effective scheduling means faster movement of goods and services
through a facility. This means greater use of assets and hence greater
capacity per dollar invested, which, in turn, lower cost.
Added capacity, faster throughput, and the related flexibility mean better
customer service through faster delivery.
Good scheduling contributes to realistic commitments, hence dependable
delivery.

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 Short Term Scheduling Scheduling Criteria

Scheduling Criteria

The four scheduling criteria are [1]:

1 Minimize completion time
2 Maximize utilization
3 Minimize work-in-process (WIP) inventory
4 Minimize customer waiting time

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 Loading Jobs

Loading Jobs

A process-focused facility is a high-variety, low-volume system commonly

found in manufacturing and services. It is also called an intermittent, or
job shop, facility.
Loading: the assigning of jobs to work or processing centers.
Input/Output Control: Allows operations personnel to manage facility
work flows by tracking work added to a work center and its work
completed.
ConWIP Cards: Cards that control the amount of work in a work center,
aiding input/output control. It is an acronym for constant work-in-process.
A ConWIP card travels with a job (or batch) through the work center.
When the job is finished, the card is released and returned to the initial
workstation, authorizing the entry of a new batch into the work center.
Gantt Charts: Planning charts used to schedule resources and allocate
time.
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 Sequencing Jobs

Sequencing Jobs

Sequencing: determining the order in which jobs should be done at each

work center.
Priority rules: rules used to determine the sequence of jobs in
process-oriented facilities
First come, first-served (FCFS): Jobs are completed in the order in
which they arrived
Shortest Processing Time(SPT): Jobs with the shortest processing
times are assigned first
Earliest Due Date (EDD): Earliest due date jobs are performed first
Longest Processing Time(LPT): Jobs with the longest processing time
are completed first.

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 Sequencing Jobs Metrics on Job Sequencing

Metrics on Job Sequencing

Average Completion Time

Sum of total flow time
Average Completion Time = Number of jobs

Utilization Metric
Total job work(processing) time
Utilization Metric = Sum of total flow time

Average number of jobs

Sum of total flow time
Average number of jobs in the system = Total job work (processing) time

Average job lateness

Total late days
Average job lateness = Number of jobs

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 Sequencing Jobs Job Sequencing Strategy

Job Sequencing Strategy I

SPT is the best technique for minimizing job flow and average number of
jobs in the system.
FCFS performs about average on most criteria, and it appears fair to
customers.
EDD minimizes maximum tardiness.
Critical Ratio (CR): A sequencing rule that is an index number computed
by dividing the time remaining until due date by the work time remaining.

Critical Ratio (CR)

Time Remaining Due date−Today’s Date
Critical Ratio (CR) = Workdays remaining
= Work (lead )timeremaining

CR is dynamic and easily updated, tends to perform better than FCFS,

SPT, EDD or LPT on average job-lateness criterion.

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 Sequencing Jobs Job Sequencing Strategy

Job Sequencing Strategy II

Johnson’s Rule: An approach that minimizes processing time for

sequencing a group of jobs through two work centers while minimizing
total idle time in the work centers.
1 All jobs are to be listed, and the time that each requires on a machine is to
be shown.
2 Select the job with the shortest activity time. If the shortest time lies with
the first machine, the job is schedule first. If the shortest time lies with the
second machine, schedule the job last. Ties in activity times can be broken
arbitrarily.
3 Once a job is scheduled, eliminate it.
4 Apply Step 2 and 3 to the remaining jobs, working toward the center of the
sequence.

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 Sequencing Jobs Limitations

Limitations of Rule-based Sequencing

Limitations of Rule-based Sequencing are:

1 Scheduling is dynamic;
2 Rules do not look upstream or downstream, and
3 Rules do not look beyond due dates.

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 References

References I

[1] H EIZER , J., AND R ENDER , B. Operations Management. Prentice Hall, 2008.

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 References

The End

Thank You.

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